So, I just got done reading Miss NY, Leigh-Taylor's, latest blog update, as well as having been keeping up with all of my other fellow contestants I'll be having the pleasure of spending the week with, and I thought I should dump out everything in my head onto my blog before I depart for Albany. Of all things, I've learned that blogging can be very cathartic.
The past couple weeks, particularly last week, have been very stressful. My work schedule was bumped up to practically full-time at work for a wretched conference, the gym has left me tattered and torn, and I'm sure my boyfriend is ready to pull his left arm out and beat himself over the head with it.... and that doesn't even begin to describe how I'M feeling right now!! I've been in NYC with him since Friday, the point of which was to be able to relax and unwind before the big week. I did everything I needed to do (or so I thought...) before we left, so I could really just kick back and have some good times with him and his family... SO not the case.
In addition to having woman issues this week, I've been incredibly irritable... and that will happen when you wake up between the hours of 4am and 6am every single day for a week straight! I am one of those people that throws myself 150% into everything that I do, and sometimes that means waking up in the middle of the night to ask myself interview questions, or rehearse my talent in my head, or go over in which order I will hit my stances during swimsuit (pretty foot before or after T-stance??) It's been really tough to drag myself out of bed on just a few hours of sleep for a week now, but I just can't help it! I'm thinking I might have to resort to Nyquil soon :/
One of the things that has been weighing down on me is nothing that I have any control over; the audience. When I won Miss Finger Lakes, I BURST into tears. Partly because I was so happy that I won; partly because that I was so shocked that I won; and mostly because I won, for the first time, and nobody was there in the audience for me. I should be used to this by now, but I think that the accomplishments are worse than the failures when you have no one to share the excitement with. I know that my boyfriend will not be attending this weekend's pageant festivities, because he simply does not have the money. I'm not like most of my fellow contestants, who have moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles that are there to offer support and help throughout the process, and who will be there in that audience. I know that I am where I am because I got myself here, and that's something to be proud of, but in the midst of PMS it's hard to appreciate that when all I want is people that love me to be in the audience for me. Am I complaining? Yes, I think so, I'm done now.
So, I think I'm going to go and try to take a nap... just kidding, I'm going to go do my economics homework (which will probably put me to sleep anyway). Thanks for letting me get this off my chest, blogspot.com, and I will see you after the pageant!!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Colonial Days!
So, just a week and a half before the Miss New York pageant, I had a jam-packed weekend in Corning for the annual Colonial Days festivities, specifically the pageants and parade. I had a ton of fun, it gave me exactly the release I needed from all of the pageant-prep stress.
I drove down on Thursday for the first night of Colonial Days, for the Tiny Miss and Little Miss Colonial Days pageants. It was an absolute thrill for me to see all of these beautiful little girls doing what I love to do, and having the guts to get up on stage at such a young age when, at 21 years old, it's still nerve-wrecking for me!! We crowned two perfect winners that night as well as some runners-up and Miss Congenialities. I think the best part was being able to visit my little brothers and sisters, spend some time with them and just see my family for a little while.
Ok, a prize to whoever can follow me through this paragraph and actually make sense of it. I have five siblings, three brothers and two sisters, all through the same mother. Only two of those siblings have the same father...... sad, I know. Anywho, those two sibs are Joey (17) and Shey (14). They live with their dad Aaron who, by the way, is the coolest guy ever. He just got re-married in September, for which I was so honored to be a bridesmaid, to Wendy. Wendy has two children from a previous relationship, Trevor (9 I think?) and Lexi (13 I think...). Additionally, Aaron has another daughter, Courtney (9) from his second marriage (after my mom) who lives with him. SO, this house is FULL of kids, all of which are like blood related family to me that I love so much and that treat me like their favorite toy on Christmas whenever I come visit. I had a wonderful time just relaxing with them, hangin' out with Wendy girl-talking, and taking the kids to school on Friday morning. As you know, if you know me or if you've been keeping up with my blog, I really don't have a family, so being able to spend time with this one gives me that connection that I've been missing out on for pretty much half of my life, and it's just the greatest feeling in the world. Appreciate your families, people, because I am SO jealous of those of you who have moms and dads!!
Continuing on with Colonial Days, on Friday I had the great honor of being given a tour of Corning and Painted Post by the Mayor of Painted Post, Edward "Sandy" Franklin, Jr. with Sarah, the local Children's Miracle Network rep, and Leigh-Taylor Smith, Miss New York. I learned so much about Corning and everything that is done here and made here, and it was a spectacular learning experience for me. We then had a nice lunch, and made our way to the big tent for that evening's pageants, Little, Teen, and Miss Colonial Days. Leigh-Taylor and I presented Sarah with a check for the hospital in Elmira, money raised from the very pageant at which I was crowned! Being a part of the Miss America Organization has been rewarding in a million ways, and helping out the CMN has perhaps been the most rewarding. After the pageant, Leigh-Taylor and I headed to the hotel to get ready for a wild girls night out on Corning... which included a trip to Wal-Mart and some popcorn while watching Uptown Girls! It was good times :)
The parade the next day was really amazing, the second-largest professionally judged parade of marching bands next to the Macy's Day parade. It was super long, with thousands of people, and coincidentally it was Leigh-Taylor's very first parade as Miss New York, and I was very proud to have her in my central city of reign for that! I gotta tell you, your arms get REALLY tired after all that waving, though! It was so fun, seeing all the kids smiling up and waving. I hope to inspire a lot of girls to achieve all of the things they want to, and I hope to instill in them that they are all so beautiful and so sweet, and as long as they hold onto to that confidence they will accomplish incredible things.
After the parade, I helped hand out trophies to the marching bands that competed. When it was all said and done, I was on my way back to Syracuse, to wind down from the weekend and relax before I have to get my head back in the game... one week to go! Keep me in your thoughts!!
I drove down on Thursday for the first night of Colonial Days, for the Tiny Miss and Little Miss Colonial Days pageants. It was an absolute thrill for me to see all of these beautiful little girls doing what I love to do, and having the guts to get up on stage at such a young age when, at 21 years old, it's still nerve-wrecking for me!! We crowned two perfect winners that night as well as some runners-up and Miss Congenialities. I think the best part was being able to visit my little brothers and sisters, spend some time with them and just see my family for a little while.
Ok, a prize to whoever can follow me through this paragraph and actually make sense of it. I have five siblings, three brothers and two sisters, all through the same mother. Only two of those siblings have the same father...... sad, I know. Anywho, those two sibs are Joey (17) and Shey (14). They live with their dad Aaron who, by the way, is the coolest guy ever. He just got re-married in September, for which I was so honored to be a bridesmaid, to Wendy. Wendy has two children from a previous relationship, Trevor (9 I think?) and Lexi (13 I think...). Additionally, Aaron has another daughter, Courtney (9) from his second marriage (after my mom) who lives with him. SO, this house is FULL of kids, all of which are like blood related family to me that I love so much and that treat me like their favorite toy on Christmas whenever I come visit. I had a wonderful time just relaxing with them, hangin' out with Wendy girl-talking, and taking the kids to school on Friday morning. As you know, if you know me or if you've been keeping up with my blog, I really don't have a family, so being able to spend time with this one gives me that connection that I've been missing out on for pretty much half of my life, and it's just the greatest feeling in the world. Appreciate your families, people, because I am SO jealous of those of you who have moms and dads!!
Continuing on with Colonial Days, on Friday I had the great honor of being given a tour of Corning and Painted Post by the Mayor of Painted Post, Edward "Sandy" Franklin, Jr. with Sarah, the local Children's Miracle Network rep, and Leigh-Taylor Smith, Miss New York. I learned so much about Corning and everything that is done here and made here, and it was a spectacular learning experience for me. We then had a nice lunch, and made our way to the big tent for that evening's pageants, Little, Teen, and Miss Colonial Days. Leigh-Taylor and I presented Sarah with a check for the hospital in Elmira, money raised from the very pageant at which I was crowned! Being a part of the Miss America Organization has been rewarding in a million ways, and helping out the CMN has perhaps been the most rewarding. After the pageant, Leigh-Taylor and I headed to the hotel to get ready for a wild girls night out on Corning... which included a trip to Wal-Mart and some popcorn while watching Uptown Girls! It was good times :)
The parade the next day was really amazing, the second-largest professionally judged parade of marching bands next to the Macy's Day parade. It was super long, with thousands of people, and coincidentally it was Leigh-Taylor's very first parade as Miss New York, and I was very proud to have her in my central city of reign for that! I gotta tell you, your arms get REALLY tired after all that waving, though! It was so fun, seeing all the kids smiling up and waving. I hope to inspire a lot of girls to achieve all of the things they want to, and I hope to instill in them that they are all so beautiful and so sweet, and as long as they hold onto to that confidence they will accomplish incredible things.
After the parade, I helped hand out trophies to the marching bands that competed. When it was all said and done, I was on my way back to Syracuse, to wind down from the weekend and relax before I have to get my head back in the game... one week to go! Keep me in your thoughts!!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
All for the Children! / Healthy Living
Well, it's been a while since my last post, so I have a few things to blab (blog?) about. First, I had a really great Memorial Day in Corning this year! I hope everyone else enjoyed their Memorial Days as well (I know you did, Miss Westchester! :)). My grandpa was a WWII veteran, and as soon as all of this pageant business is over I will be adding an American flag charm to my tattoo ankle bracelet [see, I'm absolutely addicted to ink, and I love tattoos that are symbolic for important things/people in my life, but I don't want to be completely covered in artwork. SO, my brilliant idea was to get an ankle bracelet tattoo to which I can add charms to represent things that are important to me] to commemorate him. He died two years ago on April 27, and I miss him so much everyday, especially when I make pasta (which I SWEAR I have not been doing since being crowned Miss Finger Lakes!!) because it is from him that I get my Italian genes.
For this Memorial Day, I got to ride on a convertible in the Corning Memorial Day Parade. I have never participated in a parade before, so it was very exciting for me! I had a little issue at first with my glasses; I was told by the eye doctor that I had serious corneal abrasions from wearing the same pair of contacts for too long, so I was forced into glasses for two weeks (I am absolutely BLIND!) At first, I refused to wear my glasses in the parade. It wasn't very fun, though, because I couldn't see who I was waving at. I eventually folded and put my glasses on, and it made all the difference in my day. I got to see all the beautiful little girls that were waving back at me and the cute little boys who were too shy to do so! I even heard one parent say to her daughter, "See, Miss Finger Lakes wears glasses too!" It made me feel really to know that at least someone else knew how I was feeling about wearing glasses, and I hope that I made her feel a little bit better.
On Sunday, May 31st (the two-year anniversary of the day my grandma died :'( yes, my grandparents died a month apart in 2007 and yes, I have a tattoo for her! A big one!) some of the Miss NY 2009 contestants and myself went to Albany to participate in the Children's Miracle Network Telethon. It is an annual weekend-long event during which CMN reaches out to the country in hopes of raising money in memory of past, in honor of present and in prepartion for future patients at CMN hospitals. Our responsibility was to man the phone lines and take down pledges from donators. This weekend, nearly $2.5 million was raised!! Our involvement with CMN as contestants is critical for several reasons. One, CMN is the national platform for the Miss America Organization. The moment she is crowned, Miss America becomes the Goodwill Ambassador for all CMN hospitals. As contestants, we know how important our younger generations are; they will be the future MAO contestants, after all! Second, for those of you who aren't aware, the MAO is incredibly focused on community service. By being involved with CMN, we are constantly giving back to our community and doing our part to alleviate the problems of a very special population, and as a social work student, that is something that I treasure very closely. Finally, as I've mentioned before, each contestant in this organization is required to have a personal platform. For many of us, the social issues to which we have committed ourselves may affect children that have been or may be treated at a CMN hospital. My platform deals with the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault. I know that these violences affect children regularly, as devastating as that is, and there may be a patient at a CMN hospital who is a child injured by violence. By helping the CMN hospitals raise money to treat these children, we we part of a very important movement and I am so honored to have participated.
So, I wanted to chat really quick about "healthy living"... yeaaa. I have been asked several times over the past couple of weeks by my co-workers, who are international students and are not really familiar with pageants, if there is a height/weight requirement to compete. I told them no, the purpose of the swimsuit category is to demonstrate a dedication to healthy living. To me, living healthy is eating properly, and regular exercise. I have worked really hard to keep myself in the shape for the pageant; I actually managed to lose almost 5 pounds in two weeks! At about 5'3" and 111 lbs, I'm very happy with my body and I am definitely dedicated to keeping it healthy! I eat a lot of vegetables; I LOVE brussel sprouts (I'm not even lying), asparagus, broccoli and fresh spinach. Chicken is also a staple in my apartment, as it is a lean meat and a great source of protein. Everyday I work, I have a wheat bagel, a strawberry-banana smoothie and lots of water. I even treat myself to a milkshake every now and then at home! There are little alterations that I have made to my regular, everyday diet to help me stay more fit, and I'd like to share them with you, as they really do make a difference!
- Switching from white starches to whole wheat/whole grain. This includes bread, pasta, bagels, rice, etc. This was especially hard for me, being Italian!
- My daily smoothie does not have any sugar added aside from the natural sugars found in the fruit.
- When I eat my vegetables, I slather them in butter... Light, omega3-enhanced butter.
- I eat my morning cereal (Cinnamon Pecan Special K is SO good) with SKIM milk... make the switch!
- Less than a tablesoon of LIGHT mayo on turkey sandwiches
- EAT BREAKFAST! Eating within an hour or two of waking up kicks your metabolism into gear for the day and allows you to burn the calories you eat throughout the day more efficiently. Two scrambled eggs and a slice or two of wheat toast for breakfast is a great way to start the day.
- Drink water, drink water, drink water. This is especially helpful when you're hungry, or want to eat just because you're bored (which I constantly suffer from...); putting something in your mouth and stomach can help to quiet those hunger pangs.
- Those milkshakes I mentioned? Skim milk and fat free vanilla yogurt blends ice cream/frozen yogurt :) You can't even tell the difference, I swear!
- There are other little tidbits and tips... DON'T drink dark-colored pop (soda, for those of you not from Rochester!) like Coke, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, etc. The syrup stains your teeth and let's not even discuss what the sugar does to your teeth! For this same reason I don't drink coffee, ALTHOUGH I have read that it is a good idea to have a cup of coffee about an hour before a work-out session, because the caffiene will boost your energy and your metabolism. But I'm not a dietician or a fitness expert.
I also work out at least 3 days a week. I run 2 miles at about 6.0 to 6.5 MPH. I used to run a mile at 7.0MPHs, but my wonderful boyfriend told me that running longer is more important than running faster, so I slowed down a little and doubled my distance. Today, I ran 2.25 miles at 6.5 :)! I also do curls, shoulder presses, and lunges (which are GREAT for the butt!) I use 10 lb weights, and will be moving up to 12 lbs weights tomorrow. I've been working very hard to stay dedicated and disciplined during the time before Miss NY. I've had to cut back on some favorites, like pizza and mac and cheese.... trust me, I have three boxes in my cupboard that WILL be devoured the day after Miss NY, win or lose! I work in a cafe, ok, and we serve pastries EVERYDAY! It is hard for me to sacrifice a blueberry bagel (no cream cheese... yuck) for a wheat one, but Miss NY is very important to me and so is knowing that I have self-control and a strong will. So, hopefully the judges will recognize my dedication to healthy living! And, if not, that's ok, because the other outcome of working out so much is just knowing that I care enough about myself to stay healthy. Plus, I'm ready for swimsuit season outside of pageantry!
Thanks for your patience through my coaching, this was a long one. I will be writing again after Colonial Days!
For this Memorial Day, I got to ride on a convertible in the Corning Memorial Day Parade. I have never participated in a parade before, so it was very exciting for me! I had a little issue at first with my glasses; I was told by the eye doctor that I had serious corneal abrasions from wearing the same pair of contacts for too long, so I was forced into glasses for two weeks (I am absolutely BLIND!) At first, I refused to wear my glasses in the parade. It wasn't very fun, though, because I couldn't see who I was waving at. I eventually folded and put my glasses on, and it made all the difference in my day. I got to see all the beautiful little girls that were waving back at me and the cute little boys who were too shy to do so! I even heard one parent say to her daughter, "See, Miss Finger Lakes wears glasses too!" It made me feel really to know that at least someone else knew how I was feeling about wearing glasses, and I hope that I made her feel a little bit better.
On Sunday, May 31st (the two-year anniversary of the day my grandma died :'( yes, my grandparents died a month apart in 2007 and yes, I have a tattoo for her! A big one!) some of the Miss NY 2009 contestants and myself went to Albany to participate in the Children's Miracle Network Telethon. It is an annual weekend-long event during which CMN reaches out to the country in hopes of raising money in memory of past, in honor of present and in prepartion for future patients at CMN hospitals. Our responsibility was to man the phone lines and take down pledges from donators. This weekend, nearly $2.5 million was raised!! Our involvement with CMN as contestants is critical for several reasons. One, CMN is the national platform for the Miss America Organization. The moment she is crowned, Miss America becomes the Goodwill Ambassador for all CMN hospitals. As contestants, we know how important our younger generations are; they will be the future MAO contestants, after all! Second, for those of you who aren't aware, the MAO is incredibly focused on community service. By being involved with CMN, we are constantly giving back to our community and doing our part to alleviate the problems of a very special population, and as a social work student, that is something that I treasure very closely. Finally, as I've mentioned before, each contestant in this organization is required to have a personal platform. For many of us, the social issues to which we have committed ourselves may affect children that have been or may be treated at a CMN hospital. My platform deals with the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault. I know that these violences affect children regularly, as devastating as that is, and there may be a patient at a CMN hospital who is a child injured by violence. By helping the CMN hospitals raise money to treat these children, we we part of a very important movement and I am so honored to have participated.
So, I wanted to chat really quick about "healthy living"... yeaaa. I have been asked several times over the past couple of weeks by my co-workers, who are international students and are not really familiar with pageants, if there is a height/weight requirement to compete. I told them no, the purpose of the swimsuit category is to demonstrate a dedication to healthy living. To me, living healthy is eating properly, and regular exercise. I have worked really hard to keep myself in the shape for the pageant; I actually managed to lose almost 5 pounds in two weeks! At about 5'3" and 111 lbs, I'm very happy with my body and I am definitely dedicated to keeping it healthy! I eat a lot of vegetables; I LOVE brussel sprouts (I'm not even lying), asparagus, broccoli and fresh spinach. Chicken is also a staple in my apartment, as it is a lean meat and a great source of protein. Everyday I work, I have a wheat bagel, a strawberry-banana smoothie and lots of water. I even treat myself to a milkshake every now and then at home! There are little alterations that I have made to my regular, everyday diet to help me stay more fit, and I'd like to share them with you, as they really do make a difference!
- Switching from white starches to whole wheat/whole grain. This includes bread, pasta, bagels, rice, etc. This was especially hard for me, being Italian!
- My daily smoothie does not have any sugar added aside from the natural sugars found in the fruit.
- When I eat my vegetables, I slather them in butter... Light, omega3-enhanced butter.
- I eat my morning cereal (Cinnamon Pecan Special K is SO good) with SKIM milk... make the switch!
- Less than a tablesoon of LIGHT mayo on turkey sandwiches
- EAT BREAKFAST! Eating within an hour or two of waking up kicks your metabolism into gear for the day and allows you to burn the calories you eat throughout the day more efficiently. Two scrambled eggs and a slice or two of wheat toast for breakfast is a great way to start the day.
- Drink water, drink water, drink water. This is especially helpful when you're hungry, or want to eat just because you're bored (which I constantly suffer from...); putting something in your mouth and stomach can help to quiet those hunger pangs.
- Those milkshakes I mentioned? Skim milk and fat free vanilla yogurt blends ice cream/frozen yogurt :) You can't even tell the difference, I swear!
- There are other little tidbits and tips... DON'T drink dark-colored pop (soda, for those of you not from Rochester!) like Coke, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, etc. The syrup stains your teeth and let's not even discuss what the sugar does to your teeth! For this same reason I don't drink coffee, ALTHOUGH I have read that it is a good idea to have a cup of coffee about an hour before a work-out session, because the caffiene will boost your energy and your metabolism. But I'm not a dietician or a fitness expert.
I also work out at least 3 days a week. I run 2 miles at about 6.0 to 6.5 MPH. I used to run a mile at 7.0MPHs, but my wonderful boyfriend told me that running longer is more important than running faster, so I slowed down a little and doubled my distance. Today, I ran 2.25 miles at 6.5 :)! I also do curls, shoulder presses, and lunges (which are GREAT for the butt!) I use 10 lb weights, and will be moving up to 12 lbs weights tomorrow. I've been working very hard to stay dedicated and disciplined during the time before Miss NY. I've had to cut back on some favorites, like pizza and mac and cheese.... trust me, I have three boxes in my cupboard that WILL be devoured the day after Miss NY, win or lose! I work in a cafe, ok, and we serve pastries EVERYDAY! It is hard for me to sacrifice a blueberry bagel (no cream cheese... yuck) for a wheat one, but Miss NY is very important to me and so is knowing that I have self-control and a strong will. So, hopefully the judges will recognize my dedication to healthy living! And, if not, that's ok, because the other outcome of working out so much is just knowing that I care enough about myself to stay healthy. Plus, I'm ready for swimsuit season outside of pageantry!
Thanks for your patience through my coaching, this was a long one. I will be writing again after Colonial Days!
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